FanHome - View Single Post - We don't get the national respect that is due

BigRapidsJackass · 10-21-2007, 05:31 PM

Roxpert, I think you're right. I know you used to live in the Bay Area ... I remember the incredible yawns that accompanied the '89 Giants-A's World Series. The only thing that made people pay attention was the earthquake.

And those were two interesting team, particularly the A's (Canseco, McGwire, etc.). Ratings were poor and the national media wrote it off as a thing of purely local interest. Not even So Cal (which just had the Dodgers win the year before) mustered much enthusiasm.

Fast forward to 2001. A similarly local affair -- Yankees vs. Mets -- was on the cover of Time magazine before it even started.

So when people write off a series as "lacking interest" for most of the country, they're just saying that the following clubs aren't involved:

Yankees
Red Sox
Cubs
Dodgers
Mets

Really, that's it. The White Sox didn't even generate that much excitement as they're purely a local Chicago thing (unlike the Cubs). Same thing with the Phils. Would the national sports media be more excited if it were the D'backs? The Reds? I don't think so.

If the Red Sox take Game 7 tonight, all of a sudden the national interest is there. Baseball is like most sports in that respect. NBA: who cared about the Spurs? It was LeBron vs. whoever. NHL? Unless the Rangers/Bruins/Kings make it, hockey remains a minor league attraction. The NFL is the only league that seems to generate just as much interest whether it's the Giants or the Rams representing the NFC. So we shouldn't really feel sorry for ourselves. That's life in modern American sports. There aren't that many baseball fanatics like us out there; the mass audience is found among the millions who own Yankees/Red Sox/Cubs caps but who don't really know who the players are.

10-21-2007, 05:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
BigRapidsJackass Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,123	Roxpert, I think you're right. I know you used to live in the Bay Area ... I remember the incredible yawns that accompanied the '89 Giants-A's World Series. The only thing that made people pay attention was the earthquake. And those were two interesting team, particularly the A's (Canseco, McGwire, etc.). Ratings were poor and the national media wrote it off as a thing of purely local interest. Not even So Cal (which just had the Dodgers win the year before) mustered much enthusiasm. Fast forward to 2001. A similarly local affair -- Yankees vs. Mets -- was on the cover of Time magazine before it even started. So when people write off a series as "lacking interest" for most of the country, they're just saying that the following clubs aren't involved: Yankees Red Sox Cubs Dodgers Mets Really, that's it. The White Sox didn't even generate that much excitement as they're purely a local Chicago thing (unlike the Cubs). Same thing with the Phils. Would the national sports media be more excited if it were the D'backs? The Reds? I don't think so. If the Red Sox take Game 7 tonight, all of a sudden the national interest is there. Baseball is like most sports in that respect. NBA: who cared about the Spurs? It was LeBron vs. whoever. NHL? Unless the Rangers/Bruins/Kings make it, hockey remains a minor league attraction. The NFL is the only league that seems to generate just as much interest whether it's the Giants or the Rams representing the NFC. So we shouldn't really feel sorry for ourselves. That's life in modern American sports. There aren't that many baseball fanatics like us out there; the mass audience is found among the millions who own Yankees/Red Sox/Cubs caps but who don't really know who the players are.